Go figure! Brookline's transformational impact stretches beyond golf thanks to Albright

The Country Club didn't just change the trajectory of golf but figure skating too as the pond behind the green on the third hole was a field of dreams for 1956 Olympic gold medalist 

A hive of history: Golf fans pass the clubhouse at The Country Club, Monday, June 13, 2022, in Brookline, Mass., during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Pic: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

The Country Club revels in the story of its transformational local hero Francis Ouimet, the club caddie who walked across Clyde Street from his home in 1913 to defeat British heavyweights Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in the US Open and change the trajectory of golf’s popularity in America.

But there was another local sporting pioneer who cultivated her craft on the grounds at Brookline and lifted the profile of a sport with her success – figure skater Tenley Albright. While Ouimet’s home is a landmark directly across the street from the club’s entrance, the roots of Albright’s success as America’s first Olympic figure skating gold medalist in 1956 trace to the pond behind the No. 3 green.